Forbidden Love
by DarkWolf88
Summary: After being sold into a sleezy world where men auction off women, Hilary is bought by Kai Hiwatari, grandson of one of the world's richest men. Kai has saved her from that dark world, and now she lives in his mansion as a maid. Slowly, the two fall in lov
1. A World of Darkness

_**Full Summary:** After being sold into a sleazy world where men auction off women, Hilary is bought by Kai Hiwatari, grandson of one of the world's richest men. Kai has saved her from that dark world, and now she lives in his mansion as a maid. But a dark secret is hidden in the Hiwatari Mansion, and Hilary's savior is in serious trouble! Falling in love, Kai and Hilary wish to escape the mansion, but will they be able to make it? Will she be able to save Kai from his impending doom? KAIxHIL_

_**Rating:** M (for future lime content)_

_Yes, another piece of crap story from DarkWolf 88!_

_Now, before I get flamed for the content of this story...yes, this chapter may be disturbing to some. It contains women in an almost brothel situation...that is, men picking out a women and paying to have intimate relations with her. But I haven't gone into any real details in this chapter. Actually, this is the ONLY chapter with something like that in this whole story._

_I was a little hesitant to write this at first, since it will later contain a lemon (but I probably will edit that out, and post the unedited part on my AFF account) Yeah, yeah...I know I said in "Crimson Legend" that I wouldn't post another story...but this is a sort of "commission" from a friend of mine. She wanted me to write this for her before I go into "retirement." (laughs) Yeah..._

_So yeah, this is mainly for her. I don't expect many people to like this story, especially after this chapter...but hey, I've warned you._

_I got a flame from someone who read "Fall from Grace" and they found it disturbing and stuff...like they were surprised! Even after ALL the warnings I gave! (shakes head sadly) well...whatever. BTW...has anyone noticed that "flamers" never sign in? Is that because they are scared of something? (shrugs) Oh well._

_Anyway...so, to ease this problem, I am going to post the "warnings" in bold type here, and probably on every chapter. Hopefully those lazy people who don't care what the author has to say will now get it._

_**WARNINGS (in this chapter)** - Mild sexual content (well...I consider it to be mild, since nothing is really described), possible disturbing situations._

_Enjoy...if possible..._

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**Chapter One: A World of Darkness**

A middle aged man and his six year old daughter walked down the empty streets. The girl kept looking up at her father with a questioning glance every so often, confused as to where they were going. She lost count of how many times she had asked, with no reply.

Even in her young years, the child could sense something was dreadfully wrong. Her father's face was serious, almost perturbed looking.

Suddenly, the girl was pulled forward. "Hurry up..." Her father stated emotionlessly.

"You're going too fast daddy!" She tried to keep up with his long stride, but her short legs couldn't even hope to match him.

They had been walking for a while now, and the girl's anxiety only grew worse as the day wore on.

The clouds had begun to grey along with the sky. The heaven's rumbled unpleasantly overhead, almost as if they were warning the girl that trouble ensued further down the street.

"I...I want to go home!" She demanded, trying to pull her hand out of her father's.

The gates of hell were officially opened for the young girl as she was pushed into a black van, hidden in a dark alley. Her worse fear had come true, something that she thought would certainly never happen to her! Her father promised to protect her from this, yet he was standing right there...watching impatiently as she was being kidnapped!

She tried to scream, kick, get away, all to no avail. The men were much stronger than her, and she could do nothing as her captors threw her inside that van and slammed the door.

"Daddy! Why! WHY!" She screamed through the metal door, knowing that the man that raised her was standing just outside, watching as his only daughter was taken. "HELP ME!"

She peered out of the small window at the top of the door, hoping to understand something.

There he was...her father...a cocky grin on his face as he accepted a small, bulging package from the man that helped throw the teen inside the van. Her father quickly opened the package and thumbed through the stacks of bills inside.

"Money!" The girl had been sold...by her own father?

"Daddy!" She pounded on the door, pulled as hard as possible on the handle to open it and escape, but it was useless. Her heart was torn, for the man she loved, the man that raised her after her mother had died, had sold her! But for what purpose? She knew he had some problems with drugs and alcohol in the past...did he really give them up? Or had he used up all the money, and was desperate enough to sell his only child!

Her strength left her, and she collapsed in a heap on the van's floor. Her body shook harshly as burning tears streamed down her face. She was only vaguely aware of the front doors as they opened, and the men got inside to drive off.

The girl's father turned on his heel and walked away as if nothing had happened, still fingering the money inside the package greedily. Deciding it would be less conspicuous, he slipped the package inside his coat pocket, pulling out his wallet to make room. Not being able to handle both the wallet and the package in one hand, the wallet tumbled to the sidewalk beside him, opening up toward the sky.

Noticing this, the man slipped his new fortune into the pocket and bent down to retrieve the empty wallet. His eyes rested on a picture he kept inside next to his ID...a picture of his daughter. He stared at the picture with hollow eyes, absolutely no emotion in his features. Slowly, he took the picture out and held it into the breeze.

"You're dead to me now...Hilary..."

---

That same young girl, so cruelly abandoned had grown up in a dark, underground world. Upon arriving at her new "home," she learned quickly what life was going to be like. She found that she was now living in a sort of brothel, where older women were picked out to "entertain" men in any which way they choose. If she behaved, she wouldn't follow the same fate as those women. Instead, she was to be a servant, doing whatever popped into her "master's" mind the very second it happened. Because of her young age, things were easy at first, but when she grew older, her master noticed how pretty she was becoming, and though she would do well in "the underground."

The underground was an illegal slave trade operation, or something close to it. Hilary found that people would even kidnap pretty young girls, at any age, and sell them off to the highest bidder. Their fate could never be predicted there...it all rested in the hands of whomever won the highest bid.

Rumors of this place scared her, and caused the cold, strong walls she had built up to crumble slightly, as she often cried herself to sleep at night. She knew that's where she would end up, and didn't want to think of what the men down there would do to her.

In her mind, she was just something that was bought, then sold like a worn out tool...and that was all she was going to be.

---

Ten years later:

An elderly man, along with a middle aged man that appeared to be some sort of butler, and a teenaged boy all stepped out of a long, black limousine and proceeded to walk down the wet street until they came to a filthy, wooden door.

Yes, the average passerby would probably think something fishy was going on, seeing two wealthy looking men, dressed in expensive suits, along with a butler, entering a shallow alleyway and knocking at such a door, but the street was completely void of any other human life.

The skies were a dull, dark grey, and pure white snow would flurry past every so often with a bitter wind.

The teenager sighed, pulling up the collar of his white scarf.

"You should get used to this Kai. This is what you'll be doing when you take my place." The elderly man stated, almost irritated.

Kai growled, narrowing his eyes at the crowds below. "_Like hell I will…_"

The door was opened, and the three men made their way inside.

An interesting smell caught Kai's attention as it always had. The smell of liquor and smoke would never be stronger somewhere else, and Kai would probably never get used to it.

Loud chatter began to increase in volume as the party made its way past the smokey darkness and into a dimly lit balcony. The balcony overlooked a large arena-like space that had nearly been filled with all sorts of beings, mainly humans. The occasional rat ran across anything that was up and off the floor, and even a few birds had made their way in through some opening to the outside world.

All the noise was echoing so badly in the teen's ears, that he wished to slip out and wait in the car. But he knew he would be in trouble. He watched in disgust as a man in the center of the arena led a line of young women out of the spotlight, and into the shadowy depths behind the stage. Apparently, the last "auction" had come to a close.

"Lord Voltaire..." The butler started, almost timidly. "Everything is ready to being in a few minutes."

"Excellent." The tycoon then turned to Kai. "Now remember, Grandson...we are here to watch this night's activities..."

Kai turned away from the elderly man as he spoke. It sickened him to think that this is where his fortune came from. His so-called grandfather had been bringing him down to this place ever since his parents had abandoned him on the street. Voltaire had picked him up, raised him, and demanded Kai to call him "grandfather." Kai wished he would have stayed on the streets by himself…

Suddenly, a violent cough racked the teen's body, causing a slight grin to overtake Voltaire's face.

Kai got to his feet and left the box to find some water to ease the cough. Finally finding a concession booth, he grabbed whatever liquid they had and sipped it gently. It happened to be some sort of liquor, and the smell made Kai's hair stand on end, but he was gratefully it had stopped the coughing.

After muttering a series of curses to himself, he decided to wander around for a bit. He hoped the night would end quickly, so he could finally leave this dreadful place.

He found himself toward the front of the ring, where men were congratulating someone on winning the previous bid. The scowl returned to Kai's face in an instant,as the lights brightened around the arena and a new series of girls were forced out into the crowd.

"_Poor things…_" Kai muttered under his breath. He didn't like the idea of any woman being treated this way. He made it a habit to try and buy some of the girls, then make arrangements to set them free again, but that only worked once in a blue moon, for competition was great in a place like this. His crimson eyes scanned the line of women as the announcer began his speech to the crowd.

Most of them were prostitutes from the city above, most likely here because they were desperate for money. But as the teen's eyes passed down the row, something caught his eye.

A young brunette, the youngest he had ever seen in this place, was standing quite timidly behind the line. She was obviously one that had been forced to this place, and by the looks of her, she was extremely shy and embarrassed.

She was wearing a ratty skirt that had a slit almost all the way to her hip, and a sleeveless shirt in a matching condition. The outfit was obviously designed to show off as much skin as possible.

Bidding started moments later, and one by one, each woman was unhooked from her collar and led out of the arena. When the young girl's number was called, she jumped, apparently surprised as she realized where she was again.

A man hollered from somewhere in the crowd. Apparently, such a young girl was popular amongst the crowd, and an all out war began for her.

Kai was even surprised. His eyes wandered around the crowd, but always came back to the girl, who was on the brink of tears. She tried to retreat backward, but the man next to her held her against her will.

Rage was building up inside the crimson eyed teen. He had to do something! A girl like her shouldn't ever be in a world like this…

"Two million!"

The crowd went silent, everyone staring at each other, trying to find out who had called the insane amount.

A light flashed onto Kai's form, standing completely still with a serious glare on his face.

The frightened girl's eyes found his, as if not believing she would ever fetch that amount.

"Two million and three!" Another man exclaimed from the other side of the arena.

"Two and five!"

Eyes glanced from the young teen to the older man as they shouted numbers back and forth, both determined to win.

The man next to the girl finally snapped out of his shock, and started doing his job as an auctioneer.

After many minutes, the bidding began to slow down between Kai and the unknown man.

The teen was getting annoyed. "_Where does this guy work!_" With not much time to spare, he decided to make his final move. "Five million!"

The other man seemed stunned at the jump, jabbering to himself as if trying to figure out what to do.

Before being able to outbid Kai, the bidding was closed in a great uproar, and the teen was shoved toward the ring to claim his prize.

He found his way to the back, past all the other women that had been won, and their new customers or "owners".

"Let me go!" A shrill voice screamed further down.

"Shut up bitch! You're the most expensive thing I've seen here! You better show some respect to your owner!"

"I **_won't_** be owned by anyone!" She hissed, kicking the man between the legs as hard as she could.

He instantly dropped her chain to tend to his injury, allowing the girl to make a break for it.

She ran out of the room, but as she looked behind to see if she was being followed, she ran into something hard which almost knocked her to the ground.

Large hands grabbed her arms, holding her in place.

"No! Let me go!" She screamed, fidgeting every which way in hope to escape.

"You're a feisty one, aren't you?" A deep voice started. It was strangely soothing to the brunette though, and caused her to stop her struggling for a moment and look up.

She was greeted with a pair of beautiful crimson eyes, eyes that seemed to stare into a different reality, rather than her. She couldn't help but let out a gasp as her eyes traveled across his face. He was not much older than her! He had messy, slate colored hair, and four blue triangles painted on his cheeks. Yes, that was a strange feature to the girl, but he was still very handsome.

"Oh! There you are Hiwatari! Sorry, she got away for a sec…"

"You…" She started in a small voice. "_He's the one that bid all that money!_"

Kai lowered his head closer to hers. "Play along, alright?" His voice was barely above a whisper.

"She's a fine one, isn't she?" The man started again. "Name's Hilary. You wanna try her out?"

"She certainly is…" Kai replied, his voice filled with a fake lust. "I can't wait to get her home."

A hand flew out of nowhere and collided with the teen's painted cheek.

"Pervert!" Hilary screamed. Her struggle resumed again, but this time fiercer than ever.

Kai frowned down at the girl. He didn't like it either, but he had to make this look convincing.

Grabbing her wrists, he pushed her up against the brick wall and pinned her arms above her.

"I said play along!" He whispered a little harshly, pushing his lips against hers.

Hilary tried to break away from the kiss, but his body weight prevented her from doing much. When he did part from her, she collapsed, letting her tears pour out from her eyes. Kai noticed this and caught her, letting the frightened girl lean on him as she cried.

"Shh..." Kai bent down slightly, taking her arm gently and unlocking the heavy shackles around her wrist. "I'm here to help you..."

"There you are!" An angry voice echoed down the dark hallway, startling both teens, along with everyone else.

Hilary heard Kai curse under his breath as he pulled her behind him, as in an attempt to shield her from the disaster encroaching on them.

"I thought we had an understanding about...this, Kai!"

"I didn't get her for that reason...Grandfather."

"Oh? So for what reason then?" Voltaire's face was contorted in rage at the thought Kai would want to take a lover.

"To help out the maids. You're always complaining about them...maybe someone younger will do better?" Kai crossed his arms, and appeared relaxed in spite of the dark aura Voltaire seemed to be giving off.

Voltaire growled, glaring at the teens for a moment. "Fine then! We'll talk about this later!" With that, he stormed off in rage, grabbing his jacket from the butler behind him.

The older teen let out a long breath in relief. Hilary, still behind him, had stopped crying, but her puffy red eyes now had a more pronounced fear in them.

The butler walked over to the blue haired teen, holding out a black coat for him to slide into. The teen shook his head, gesturing to the brunette behind him.

"But Master Kai..."

"It's cold outside. I'm sure she's suffering enough in just the outfit."

It was true, Hilary was incredibly embarrassed at the clothes she had been pushed into. She couldn't help but think, as the butler helped slide the coat over her shoulders, that this strange act of kindness had a hidden motive behind it. What would life really be like inside the Hiwatari Mansion?

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_Yes...a horrible chapter indeed. Not a great way to start a story eh?_

_  
Well, as I said, this will be the only chapter like this, and the story line may turn out to be better than you think. This was written for a friend, so I don't really care how many of you hate it so far._

_The descriptions weren't all that great here either...but I just wanted to get this chapter over with. I hope people can understand that._

_So yeah...that's all for now._


	2. A New Life

_Hey everyone! _

_I am so sorry for the long wait for this chapter! I have been VERY busy of late, and I don't have much time to actually sit and write anymore…but everyone knows that…I've been saying that for a while now._

_But thank you all so much for all the reviews! I'm surprised how many people actually reviewed, and liked the idea of this story!_

_I do have to say though, that it may be a little boring for a few chapters while I set things up…that is why I made this chapter especially long. Hopefully more of the boring stuff can be over and done with sooner this way!_

_I want to thank Kimkizna especially for this. She helped push me to get through it, and gave me a few ideas. She was also there when I asked of her opinion. Thank you::bows:_

_Anyway…I was a little surprised no one noticed Kai's cough last chapter…or maybe you noticed…but didn't say anything…oh well…it's a little something I'm putting in to this story and everyone will have to find out! heh…yes…I am strange…_

_Okay… :cough: I'll let you all read this sucker now!_

_  
Enjoy if possible…_

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**Chapter Two: A New Life**

It was indeed cold out, just as the blue haired teen had said. Hilary shivered under the thick coat as she was led to a black sedan and offered a seat inside.

She scooted over toward the far window after Voltaire took a seat facing her. Kai was the next in, and the door closed firmly behind him.

Hilary curled up and held the coat as close to her body as possible, feeling quite awkward in the mists of these two men. Her eyes quickly glanced at the older gentleman across from her, noticing his cold, sneering glare. The girl felt her skin jump, and she diverted her gaze out the frosty window instantly.

It had been too many years since the brunette had last saw this city, but nothing had seemed to changed about it. She watched the people as the car zoomed past them, not failing to notice the worn down buildings and filthy streets as they slowly began to change into the newer, cleaner ones toward the outskirts of the city. She was really leaving that hell, but where was she going now?

The skies eventually opened, letting fluffy white flakes of snow drift peacefully to the earth. Hilary was mesmerized as they collided with the cool glass in front of her. She barely remembered the last time she had seen snow fall.

The car came to a stop suddenly, jerking the teenaged girl out of her daydream. When she looked around her, she noticed that the men had already left the car, and Kai was standing patiently outside, his hand extended to her.

Ignoring him with a small huff, Hilary stepped out into the fridged air once again and followed the older man up to the front steps of the illustrious mansion. She managed to steal some small glances around the estate before Kai was at her side again.

Though the ground had already been well covered by snow, Hilary could see that there was a beautiful garden out toward the back of the house, and large, strong trees were scattered across the lawn, shielding the mansion from the city's eyes. In the center of the driveway, an enormous fountain stood silently. It was incredibly detailed, yet it was just an ordinary fountain, nothing of what Hilary thought would be sitting outside a mansion.

As the two got closer to the house, she noticed that it was well aged, and carried a mysterious air about it. Hilary wasn't too fond of it...something about it creeped her out, just like so many things about the owners.

"See that man up there?" Kai's deep voice startled her for a moment, drawing her out of her thoughts.

Hilary looked up, noticing a tall, middle aged man at the door, holding it open and bowing his head as Voltaire passed. A few of his purple bangs blew slightly as a cold wind passed, but the rest of his hair remained in place, glued stiff with the abundant use of some styling product.

His eyes fixed themselves upon the two teens as they neared. Their lavender color shined with some sort of emotion Hilary couldn't understand, yet something told her that it couldn't possibly be good.

"His name is Boris. Stay as far away from him as possible...and do not trust any word that may come from his mouth. If you need something, ask anyone but him."

"Master Kai…" He bowed stiffly as the teens passed, his eyes glaring.

Kai paid no mind to him, but something about that man caused a chill to run through Hilary's spine. His tone of voice wasn't something that you would expect a subordinate to use with a master of a house.

What a strange family she was now going to be involved with. Everyone she had met so far had the same coldness in their eyes as the weather outside. Hilary only hoped she wouldn't be here for long.

They were in the main hallway now, and it was as grand as the outside. There was so much to see of this house, with the solid wooden floors and furniture. The ceilings were high, and at the end of the hall was a beautifully carved staircase, reaching up to the second story with a landing in the middle, and parting in two separate directions.

"Kai!" Voltaire's voice echoed from deep inside the house. "Make sure the girl does not trouble me!"

His snarling tone caused Hilary to retreat slightly. She didn't want to be here, and a feeling of dread quickly washed over her.

"Hey...relax." The crimson eyed teen whispered to her. "Don't let him scare you, or he'll have you back under the streets."

Her ruby eyes narrowed at Kai, who appeared to be looking off somewhere else. She wasn't scared of this place!

A new presence entered the hallway, causing both teens to look back toward the door.

"Well well well...What do we have here?" It was Boris, an amused smile crossing his features. "Have you brought home another unwanted pet, Master Kai?"

Neither teen was going to take that sitting down, especially Hilary. She stomped over to the tall butler, but was stopped as Kai appeared in front of her.

"In case you must know...she's working here, because apparently our current staff is incompetent." Kai directed his words directly at Boris, and everyone knew it, especially after seeing the smile drop from the man's face.

"We'll see who is the incompetent one, after a week's time." He quickly regained his composure, and directed his lavender eyes at Hilary, who still held her angry gaze.

"Such lovely eyes..." He paused. "Let us hope they don't get you into the same trouble as Kai's have..." With that, he brushed past them, and disappeared to the right of the staircase.

"Asshole..." Hilary muttered under her breath, causing a chuckle to come out of Kai.

"Nicely said..." He smirked over at her, and then started for a door on the left side of the hall. "This way..."

"Sakuya!" Kai called, leading Hilary into the kitchen.

Hilary held another gasp as she gazed around the kitchen. As if the main hallway wasn't enough, the kitchen was completely gorgeous! The walls were lined with dark, natural wood cabinets. The countertops were made of some sort of stone that Hilary had no knowledge about, and ran until it they came in contact with the largest refrigeration the girl had ever seen, at the far side of the room. In the center was a large island, matching the countertops. Six simple barstools were placed around it, as a sitting area, rather than for working. At the opposite end was a single French door, opening the way further into the endless mansion. This was by far the nicest kitchen she would ever see.

"Saku!" Kai called again, his voice pulling the brunette out of her dreamlike state.

"Sorry Master Kai! I thought you were still in the hallway!" A cheerful voice appeared behind the two teens. "How was...oh..." She paused for a moment.

Sakuya was an older woman, probably in her mid to late thirties. She was dressed in a long black dress with a pure white apron tied tight around her waist…a typical looking maid outfit. Her flowing black hair was pulled over her right shoulder and tied with a white ribbon.

She stared curiously at Hilary with a pair of lovely grey eyes. "I see we have a guest?"

"This is Hilary. She's going to be working here." Kai stated simply.

"Hello, Hilary. My name's Sakuya!" The woman was almost too cheerful, but the young brunette welcomed it. It was certainly a change from Boris and Voltaire... "What a lovely young woman you are! Where were you hired from?"

The brunette's eyes narrowed quickly, but her gaze dropped toward the ground.

"She's from the underground." A flash of hatred appeared in the teen's crimson eyes for only a moment, and then vanished. "Would you mind showing her around? Let her get cleaned up first, and I'll see if there are any spare clothes."

He drew in a wheezy breath. "Excuse me…" turning around, he suddenly went into a fit of coughing. Sakuya rushed to his side, but he shooed her off with a flick of his wrist. He made his way over to one of the stools and sat down, facing away from the two girls, and slouched forward slightly.

"Just give me a minute…"

"Don't worry Master Kai...I'll get her situated." Sakuya smiled sadly. She walked over and took Hilary's hand. "This way..."

As Hilary was pulled past the French door, she glanced back over her shoulder at Kai, still frozen in the same position, but his cough had subsided.

"Don't worry about him..." Sakuya whispered.

"What's wrong with him?" Hilary found her voice for the second time since arriving at the mansion.

"I'll explain later..." The maid led her down another hallway into a large room with a few tables and cabinets along the walls. "You don't have any injuries, do you?"

Hilary shook her head.

"Good. Here..." Sakuya shoved a pile of clothes she had retrieved from one of the cabinets. "I hope those fit..."

Without anytime to think, the brunette was rushed out of the room and past a series of doors. "Here! This is the maids' bath. Everything you'll need is already in there, so get cleaned up and changed, then meet me in that room we just came from, okay?" She smiled sweetly at the young girl, who could only nod in return.

"Okay...now give me that coat, and I'll leave you alone."

"Um..." Hilary stammered slightly, not wanting to be exposed in her current outfit to any more people.

"Come on!" The raven haired woman took hold of the coat and pulled, sending Hilary stumbling into the bathroom, free of the oversized garment.

She yelped in surprise, and tried to fix her skirt so it covered more, but the door was already closed, and Sakuya had disappeared.

Hilary let out a sigh of relief, gathered up her new clothes and set them on the counter.

It had been a while since she had actually been allowed to relax in a hot bath. Hilary finally felt clean when she stepped out onto the cold tile and wrapped herself in a clean, fluffy towel. This new life couldn't be so bad, could it? After all, she wasn't brought here out of greedy lust…

When she was finally dry, she reached over for her new clothes. They were nicer than anything she had seen before, and they were just maids clothing! After she was dressed, she stared at herself in the floor length mirror next to the sink. She had been given a long, black dress that reached just below her knees. It had long, baggy sleeves and a gently curving neck line with a white collar. The whole garment clung to her curves perfectly. It amazed Hilary that Sakuya found something so perfect instantly!

Though the dress was plain, Hilary loved it. It had been the nicest thing to touch her body since she was a small child.

After finding a brush and combing her tangled locks, she decided she looked decent enough to confront her new life. Slipping on some house slippers, she opened the bathroom door and treaded carefully down the hall back to the designated meeting place.

"Um..Sakuya?"

The laundry area was vacant. Suddenly, she heard a sound coming from the kitchen, and found herself walking toward it.

"There you are!" The voice came out of no where, startling the young teen. Sakuya appeared from the kitchen, a white piece of fabric over her arm. "Just in time, too!"

Hilary blinked, not knowing what else to do. They headed back into the kitchen, where a large pot of something was slowing cooking on the stove.

"Here's an apron. Don't let Voltaire or Boris catch you without it!" With that, the raven haired woman tossed the fabric she was holding to her.

Hilary gulped, nodding quickly and tying the white apron around her waist.

"Sorry I can't give you a better introduction into all of this…you'll just have to learn as you go!" Sakuya smiled sadly.

Lucky for Hilary, she caught on fast.

"Here…start by taking that up to Kai's room…" The raven haired maid motioned over to a serving tray on the counter. A glass of water and a bowl of hot soup waited patiently on top. "Up the stairs, to the right, and three doors down. He probably won't touch it, so just leave it by the bed."

Hilary let out a small sigh and grabbed the tray. This was exactly what she had to do when she was first brought into the underground. "_I guess it's better than being someone's sex slave…"_

"Oh!" Sakuya's voice halted her in the doorway. She rushed up to her and placed a small pill next to the glass of water. "Make sure he takes this…" her grey eyes stared at Hilary. "I don't care how…but make sure he swallows it!"

---

The creak of the doors was loud enough to wake Kai from his restless slumber. His crimson eyes immediately opened as he struggled to sit up in his enormous bed. "Sakuya, I told you…I don't need…" he was cut short as a stranger walked in. "Oh…it's you…"

"Yeah…me…" Hilary narrowed her eyes at the boy.

His face was now void of those blue triangles, and a fresh layer of sweat had coated his brow. His cheeks were flushed with fever, and his ruffled hair made it apparent that he had just awoken.

The image of him forcing her against the wall and kissing her came flooding back, and even though he had been nice to her, she couldn't help but hold that one thing against him.

"I thought you would have left by now…"

"Well…there's no where else for me to go."

"…a shame…"

Hilary let the tray fall loudly on the in table, causing the blue haired teen to stare curiously at her.

She held out a small pill to him. "Sakuya told me to make sure you took this…"

"…and I told her I had no need for such a thing…"

The brunette sighed. "Just take it, so I can get to whatever it is you _bought_ me for!"

"Hey…it's not like that…"

"Take it!"

Kai swatted away her hand, crimson eyes narrowing at hers. "I think you've misunderstood…"

"Take it already, damn it!" With that, she threw all her weight onto her knee, landing soundly right between Kai's legs.

The teen let out a fierce howl in newfound pain, allowing Hilary to toss in the pill. He swallowed it without realizing, and sent a death glare that appeared to be straight from hell at the young maid. He coughed, apparently choking on the medicine, and groped around until he found the glass of water.

"Damn you!" he snarled as he regained his composure, "What the hell was that for!"

"Payback…" she stated simply, getting off the bed and walking toward the exit.

Kai rolled over on the bed, tending to his wound and grumbled loud curses after her as she retreated, a growing smirk on her face.

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_Okay…_

_I just had to put that last part in there…Hilary has no mercy for the sick!_

_I haven't gotten Hilary's character down yet, but it'll definitely change. I know she's all friendly toward Sakuya, which you may think is strange… :shrugs: I don't know what you all think…but oh well!_

_I hope I haven't disappointed anyone!_

_Please review…_


	3. Cupid in a Cat

Hey everyone!

It took a while, but here's the next chapter! I won't go into the excuses, because no one reads what I say here anyway, and no one really cares.

But once again, it's more boring stuff…I'm still setting up the story. But that's why this is a super long chapter (for me anyway) It has a bunch of random things in it, because 1. SevenofSuzaku (the person who "commissioned" me to write this) wanted them in here and 2. because they just found themselves in here. Great excuses, huh:sigh:

Again, BIG thanks to Kimkizna…because SevenofSuzaku is never on and never has any ideas for her own stupid story! --

Anyway, I hope it's not too bad…

Enjoy if possible…

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**Chapter 3: Cupid in a Cat**

The next few weeks were very awkward for Hilary. As each day passed, she noticed that Kai had started to keep his distance from her, and flashed his brilliant crimson eyes in an angry glare every time she was near.

At first, she thought he was just being childish about her first night at the illustrious mansion. The brunette had definitely wounded his ego, and she suspected that he was bitter toward her for it.

But as the days turned into weeks, she thought it a little strange that someone like Kai could hold a grunge for something like that…even though she couldn't say that she actually _knew_ him well enough yet…

Even Sakuya picked up on the tension between the two. Something wasn't right.

"What did you do?" Sakuya whispered, noticing Kai's evil glare as he walked pass the brunette.

"I just gave him that medicine…" she stated simply, shrugging her shoulders. "That's all!"

The older maid narrowed her grey orbs in thought. After pondering it a moment, she shrugged her shoulders as well, silently deciding to let the matter go for now. Kai could be like this, after all. "He can be quite moody at times…"

Hilary had adjusted quite nicely to her new life, just as she thought she might. She was a fast learner, after all, and taking care of three men wasn't that difficult a task, considering the elder ones were never there.

Yes. Hilary came to find out that even though Boris worked in the house as almost a butler, Voltaire liked to give him special treatment. The purple-haired Russian was like Voltaire's right hand man. He was the "_boss_" when Voltaire wasn't there, and would even go so far as to punish the maids if something wasn't done completely to his own standards.

Like Kai had told her at the beginning…Boris was someone to stay **far** away from.

Kai, however, hardly ever wandered off the mansion's grounds. Hilary would only see him outside of his room every so often, walking out into the well-kept garden in the back of the estate. He would spent an hour or so out there, and then disappear again.

All the men under this roof were a complete mystery! The brunette could only let out a frustrated sigh whenever she thought about it too much. She couldn't understand why she wanted to get so involved here. She felt like something was calling her, but there was no way to put her finger on it.

"Hilary…"

But she did feel grateful that she had ended up here. Ever since her father had handed her over to the underground, she was brought up as a slave: cooking, cleaning, running errands, whatever she was commanded to do, while other girls around her were being sold and forced to have sex with complete strangers.

She had been spared from that life.

"Hilary!"

The sudden voice knocked the teen out of her thoughts, causing her to almost drop the pot of water she was hauling over to the stove from the sink. Setting it down, she scrambled out of the kitchen and entered the joining hallway.

"I'm sorry!" She bowed, knowing the consequences for keeping someone waiting. When she looked up, she let out a soft sigh. It was only Kai…

Both Hilary and Sakuya loved having to deal with Kai. Unlike his Grandfather and Boris, he could care less about formality. The maids could be themselves when he was around, _without_ having to worry about scoldings or increases in labor. Though, they _did_ have to remember to change their mannerisms whenever one of the older men walked by.

The blue haired teen pulled on a thick coat and was busy fixing a scarf around his neck. His whole posture was rigid, and his features were a bit more serious than usual.

Hilary noticed a small duffel bag near his foot as he bent down to pick it up.

"How long are you going to be gone for?"

"Does it matter?"

The brunette sighed.

"I need you to do something for me while I'm gone…" he started, "…take a saucer of cream out to the tree in the garden and leave it by the gazebo…every day."

There was a moment of silence between the two. Nothing could be heard except the thumping of the pendulum in the grandfather clock that sat at the end of the hallway.

"…huh!"

Kai shot a one-eyed glare at the girl. "You heard me…" with that, he swung the door open and stepped out into the chilly winter air, slamming it forcibly behind him.

Hilary continued to blink at the spot Kai once stood, thinking he had lost his mind. "A saucer of cream…" she repeated the words carefully in her mind. She shrugged it off and walked back to the kitchen.

"Where did Kai disappear to this time?"

Sakuya sighed as she threw another ingredient into the pot on the stove. "I believe he's gone to BioVolt."

"BioVolt?" Hilary raised an eyebrow at her raven haired friend. "Sounds like a cult…"

Sakuya suddenly put a finger to her lips, signaling Hilary's statement to be cut off. Just in time too, for Boris decided to walk by the kitchen, taking slow steps and peering inside to make sure everything was in order…just like a military prison guard.

Hilary and Sakuya let out a sigh.

"_Well, that's a topic for another day…_" Hilary made a mental note about it.

The brunette had noticed that Boris treated them more like slaves than maids. And he ran the house like a military institution…or a really strict business at the least. Boris had a special place here, however. He was able to get away with playing "master of the house" when Voltaire away. There was something else about Boris that Hilary couldn't figure out either…but she couldn't get anyone to answer it…well…she couldn't get anyone to answer it because Boris would always pop up, and make it impossible to talk anymore.

"So…did Kai give you any special instructions before he left?" Sakuya asked that question as though she already knew the answer. She had a smirk on her face.

"Yeah…and then he told me to put a saucer of cream out by the…"

"SHHH!" Sakuya's harsh whisper cut her off.

Hilary leaned back at her friend's sudden outburst, her eyebrows raised in mock surprise. Had Kai's madness infected Sakuya as well?

Boris suddenly walked by again, pausing at the entrance to the kitchen. His lavender eyes narrowed dangerously at the two maids as they stared back. "What's going on in here?"

"_Cooking, Boris…this **is** a kitchen after all_!" Hilary had to bit her tongue to keep herself from saying what she really felt. She managed to glance over at the pot on the stove, the contents already being to boil and bubble over the top.

Sakuya seemed to catch her gaze and spoke right up. "Dinner is supposed to be a surprise, and Hilary almost let it slip out!" She smiled at the purple headed man. "By the way, weren't you supposed to accompany Master Kai today?"

"Lord Voltaire requested me to return, but that is none of your concern," he sniffed, turning his nose up at the raven haired woman. With that, he continued on his way, stealing another glare at the two before he disappeared behind the wall.

Sakuya waited a few moments before continuing their conversation, making sure Boris was out of earshot. "You mustn't be seen when you go there…"

"Why don't you?"

"Well…it doesn't like me…"

"It!"

Suddenly, Sakuya jumped to her feet and rushed over to the stove. The pot had boiled over, and steam was spewing up into the air in a frenzy. "Hilary! Go set the dining room! Inform Lord Voltaire dinner will be served in fifteen minutes!"

---

Dinner had been served successfully. The dishes were cleared from the table and had been washed, and Boris had left the building. Sakuya and Hilary were finally able to relax a bit, seeing that once Voltaire was fed, he usually settled down in the study or went to bed. There was no need to worry.

Hilary found this time to be perfect to attend the task of "taking a saucer of cream out to the tree in the garden and leaving it by the gazebo", as Kai had told her. She had her suspicions about _what_, but couldn't figure out _why_. "_I guess I'll just have to find out myself…_"

She took her time as she walked out of the house and onto the large patio. She hadn't really had a chance to go outside to explore the grounds since arriving at Voltaire's mansion, so she would definitely do it now.

Beyond the vacant patio was a large lot of well-kept grass. Large scrubs lined a stone pathway that all over the yard. There were lots of trees, planted strategically in order to keep the privacy of the house, along with large patches of flowers randomly placed throughout. In the distance, Hilary could see one tree that seemed quite a bit larger than the rest, along with a white gazebo.

Walking along the path, she came across an empty fountain, similar to the one she saw in the front driveway, but this one was much less detailed. Moss hung from the top and dangled from every edge in a mysterious, yet beautiful way. It reminded Hilary of something out of those haunted mansion stories…a shiver ran through her body. Whether it was because it was cold outside or not, she couldn't tell.

She followed the path until it forked into three different directions. All the bushes around her disoriented her…she had lost tract of the gazebo, the house, and even the monstrous tree!

"Damn this!" She stomped her foot against the cold pavement. "This is ridiculous! Why do I have to bring a stupid plate of cream out into a garden **_anyway_**! Oh yeah! _Master_ Kai said so!" The brunette let all her build up sarcasm and frustration spill out of her as she mocked the blue haired teen, imitating his speech when he assigned her to this task earlier in the day.

Deciding not to follow any _path_, she charged through the bushes in the direction she remembered seeing the gazebo in. It was getting colder out, and she wasn't about to wander around all night long looking for some stupid thing that was probably never used.

Finally, after trudging though a couple rows of shrubbery and stepped carefully over a bed of colorful flowers, she saw her destination. She was close!

As she neared the gazebo, she noticed it wasn't as beautiful as it had been in the distance. The paint was chipping off of it, and the wood was apparently rotting in a few places from age as well.

She glanced down at the first step leading up to the gazebo and noticed a small dish, similar to the one in her hand. "Well then…I guess this is where I put it."

Bending down, she exchanged the two dishes, picking a couple of leaves that had fallen into the cream during her journey. With a sigh, she collapsed on the stairs, the wood groaning under her weight.

"I suppose this is it?" Hilary seemed seriously disappointed. Maybe Kai was feeding a possum or something that came out only at midnight.

Suddenly, she heard a small mew from under her. The brunette froze, ruby eyes transfixed on the saucer below.

The sound came again, this time a little closer. A few moments later, a figure immerged from a small hole under the gazebo.

A tiny tri-colored head popped out between the rotten wood, followed by the rest of its body.

Hilary gasped. "A kitten?"

She stared, mouth ajar, as the black, brown and white kitten walked over to the dish Hilary had set out for it.

The animal glanced up at Hilary for a second and meowed, then concentrated on lapping up the cream.

"So _this_ is what Kai has been spending hours outside for every day!" Hilary smiled to herself, reaching out to pet the calico.

She was somewhat surprised when she found that it didn't mind letting her pet it. "I guess you don't like Sakuya then…" She remembered the other maid saying "it" didn't like her…

Hilary felt a small part of her anger for Kai melt away as she watched the kitten. Who knew that _Kai_ liked cats, or was so kind-hearted to make sure a stray didn't starve to death?

"I may be a maid here…but why can't you be _inside_!" Hilary stroked the kitten's ear gently. "Kai can be so random at times!" She giggled as she pictured Kai outside with this cat. It was too cute a picture.

It purred contently, curling its head closer to Hilary's palm.

_Wait a **minute**_! Hilary felt herself blushing, and shook her head furiously as if to get the image out of her brain. Kai was **not** cute! Sure…he was good-looking…but he was just another rich bastard like everyone else. He would just end up using her, no matter what he was like now. She couldn't let herself get so close to him…

"I wonder if Kai's named you…hmm…I'll have to ask him." She picked it up once the saucer had been licked clean. "It's too cold for you out here…so you're coming inside!"

The cat purred as it licked its lips, staring straight at Hilary with curious eyes.

---

"What the hell are you thinking Hilary!"

"Shh!" Hilary set the cat on her bed and opened a can of tuna for it. "It can stay in my room until the weather is warmer! It'll _freeze_ out there!"

"If Boris finds her in this house, she's as good as dead! Kai will skin you alive!"

"It's a she? Did Kai name her?" Hilary seemed excited about this information.

Sakuya sighed, dragging her hand down her face with a groan. "He calls her Neko…."

"Neko?" Hilary raised an eyebrow. "Neko meaning "cat"…right?"

"Yeah…Kai's not very original…"

Hilary couldn't help but giggle.

"You _can't_ have her here! It's too risky!"

"Don't worry! The poor thing was starving! Look at her! You can see her ribs!" Hilary pointed at the calico as she scarfed down the tuna. "I'll keep her from Voltaire and Boris, don't worry!"

The older woman sighed, shaking her head. "Fine…but I won't save you if something bad happens…"

---

Three more days had passed since Hilary brought Neko into the mansion. The young maid had made sure that the kitten had everything she would need to survive inside the house, and kept everything in her room and strategically out of sight in case Boris were to barge in and search.

On the fourth day though, the brunette could tell that the cat was missing Kai, and to tell the truth, she was too. The mansion wasn't the same without him, even though he had his moody moments. It had only been about a month since she had entered the household, and she still didn't know much about anyone, except Sakuya.

The brunette had gotten to know her fellow maid very well in a short amount of time. She learned that she was brought in from the underground as well to help raise Kai when he was around six years old. She was Japanese, like Hilary, but she had accumulated a lot of debt and the only way she could pay it off was to sell herself. She was lucky she was bought as a nanny.

All Hilary knew about Kai was that Voltaire was his adoptive Grandfather, and for some reason, Voltaire kept lying about Kai's age…saying that the teen was a few years younger than he actually was…every few years. Hilary wasn't sure how he got away with it, but she figured he kept paying a good deal of money to make it happen. She knew that as time went on, the mysteries about Kai would make themselves clear…at least she hoped.

She was being drawn in to the life of the boy who cared for a stray kitten…a boy that took in a girl that no one loved.

She was pulled out of her musing by a ruckus in the kitchen. Looking up, she saw that the calico Neko was still curled up peacefully on her bed. "What's going on?" It wasn't long before a loud voice answered her question.

"HILARY!"

The brunette cringed physically, but mentally rejoiced. Kai was back!

She jumped off her bed, grabbing her apron off the back of her chair and tied it around her waist as she went. "Oh!" Turning around, she jogged back to her room and picked up the kitten. "You'll want to see Kai, won't you!" She let the kitten slide down the opening of her dress so it settled at the band of her apron. It wasn't too notable if she crossed her arms over her stomach…

"Kai! You should go lay down! Calm down!" Hilary could hear Sakuya trying to calm Kai's apparent anger from his earlier outburst. She wondered if Boris and Voltaire could hear as well…the echo was horrible! "You just got back! For heaven's sake!"

Hilary headed up the grand staircase and took a right into the East hallway, only to be immediately greeted with a pair of glossy crimson eyes, burning holes deep into the back of her brain.

"Kai?" The brunette would normally be a little more intimidated by his glare, but something was different this time. His features were off.

The blue triangles that usually decorated his pale cheeks had disappeared, and had been replaced with long red scratches. His skin, in fact, was paler than usual, and appeared slightly dirty as well. His hair was limp and dull, but Hilary noticed that his eyes were the one thing most changed…his world had been darkened slightly, she could tell.

"What happened to you?" She reached out to touch him, but he slapped her hand away.

"Where is she?" He hissed, his voice now barely above a whisper. "You got found out…didn't you?"

As if on cue, a white, gold, and black head popped out under Hilary's chin with an excited "meow".

"You mean Neko?" Hilary raised an eyebrow at Kai's surprised look. "Great name, by the way."

"Shut up."

The kitten jumped out of the maid's dress and into Kai's chest, purring wildly as it rubbed up against his bruised chin.

"She missed you…" Hilary started. "What happened?"

"What's going on here!"

The cat suddenly disappeared behind Kai's back, and he stood up straight, signaling Hilary to turn around and do the same.

Boris again…

"It's late you too…I demand to know what's going on here!"

Kai's head rolled lazily to the side, as if already exhausted by the lecture. "My room's all dusty…I asked Hilary to come up and vacuum it."

"At ten o'clock at night?"

"Yes…"

"Well…" he turned to Hilary. "Where is your vacuum?"

The brunette stared at the butler for a moment, blinking stupidly. She turned to Kai, as if looking for the answer; however, his gaze remained fixed. She started to panic when she turned back to face Boris.

"Well?"

"Stupid!" Kai flicked her on the side of her head.

"OW!" She wasn't expecting _that_!

"Hilary can't carry that thing up here by herself! Why don't you help her?"

Boris' jaw dropped slightly at Kai's outrageous suggestion. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. Bring up the vacuum." He narrowed his eyes for effect.

The purple haired butler let out a curse and pivoted on his right heel, storming down the hall and down the stairs.

Hilary stood, blinking at the spot Boris once stood in complete shock. She heard Kai let out a sigh.

"I can't believe he actually bought that!"

The brunette turned around, her ruby eyes wide. Kai thrust the cat at the again. "You kept her safe so far, so I'll trust you to keep it that way. If you cut it too close, we'll have to figure something else out, alright?"

Hilary nodded slightly.

"Hurry back downstairs. I'll tell Boris that the vacuum isn't needed."

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Okay, so…like I said, this chapter had a lot of random things in it, but they all have hints that lead into later parts of the story.

Hopefully none of you are bored to tears! I know this is all really boring right now…I'm really sorry for that! I'm really trying to pick it up as quickly as possible!

I don't know what else to say…so yeah…

Please review?


	4. Duties or a date?

I live!

Sorry guys...it's been a while! I'm really trying to finish these things....I just don't have much time anymore. GAH!

I finally decided to push for this next chapter. I'll be honest....it's full of fluff and crap and stuff that seems to be random. But I promise it all has a point and purpose as the story progresses.

I'm really rusty...so I feel like this chapter could have been better. But oh well.

It'll get better, I promise!

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**Chapter 4 : Duties or Date?**

It had been several months since Hilary moved into the illustrious mansion. Life wasn't so hard now…she actually enjoyed doing the various duties she had been assigned to. Making beds, cleaning an already impossibly clean house, and cooking dinner wasn't too difficult, especially since she had a great friend helping her!

Though there were times when things got stressful in that place…reminding her of a slightly mild version of where she had came from. The mysteries in the house, especially those surrounding the main owners, pulled at her mind. She wanted to know so much about the young man who had risked so much to whisk her away from the darkness of her previous life, how he looked so uncaring and heartless, yet melted at the simpleness of a stray kitten...

It was hard to admit, but Kai was growing on her.

But the last two weeks had been especially hard for her. Sakuya had been sent to Russia for something she knew nothing about, leaving her to tackle the house and everyone inside it alone.

And of course…today was one of those "special days" when everything had to sparkle, and everyone had to be up early. It would happen that the person to less likely sleep in would be the only one so hard to get out of bed...Kai…

Yes, her savior, Prince Charming…or so it seemed…would every once in a while _not_ wake up. The first time she had encountered this was with Sakuya. Hilary thought he had died, but the raven haired maid seemed to know better. The younger girl had spotted a pattern to this, but wasn't sure if it was only her. Something was wrong with Kai…some days would be worse for him than others, and on those days, he would be almost impossible.

Hilary let out a lengthy sigh as she placed a large vase of flowers in the center of the grand dining table in its respective room. She had just finished polishing the darn thing, which had taken a good hour of her time, never mind the several breaks she had to take to attend to Voltaire's complaints about Kai's sleeping in. She had to run upstairs, force the large wooden door open, and physically wake the older teen, go back to polishing the table, only to find out that Kai had gone back to bed by the time she had gotten downstairs.

Brushing her hands against her hips and admiring her handiwork, she turned for the maids' quarters. "Sak…!" She hollered, but stopped herself suddenly; remembering Sakuya was currently away from the mansion. With a frustrated sigh, the brunette stormed through the kitchen and into the laundry area.

"Silence! Foolish girl, it's too early for all this racket! Don't you remember that Lord Voltaire likes his mornings peaceful?!"

_Boris…_

Hilary felt vile rush up her throat as she watched him remove a load of laundry from the washer and throw it into the dryer.

"What are you doing?!" Boris touched the laundry…_her_ laundry. She would have to wash it again now…

"There is a big meeting to prepare for tonight…hurry upstairs and make _sure_ Master Kai is awake this time!"

Hilary sighed as she shuffled back the way she came, mumbling curses to herself. It was as if all her energy had left her the second her foot touched the first step of the staircase to the upper level as she began her trek upward for the…God knew how many times this one made it.

She let out a dreadful moan as she made her way over to Kai's room again. "You better be awake…" Opening the door, she headed straight for the small lump on the bed. Without any warning, she landed a heavy punch straight in the middle of it, sending the sheets up at both ends and displacing the pillows. She would usually be shy doing this sort of thing…but after the umpteenth time, it had pissed her off.

The brunette stepped back to look at the crumpled bedding. "Hmm…he's not here…" She shrugged and began to turn to leave, but something caught her eye.

A small, leather-bound book lay helplessly on the in table next to Kai's plush leather chair facing the window. Kai was always one to keep things in their places, so seeing something as simple as a book out on a table was unusual.

Hilary picked it up and flipped through the aged pages, amazed by the black text. It had been years since she had seen the inside of a book. Her ruby eyes fell in a saddened gaze as she realized something that she had been worried about. She couldn't read most of the words.

Well, it was only to be expected. The last time she read something was when she was six, and she had only had limited contact with printed words up until now. She let out a sigh.

"Did you need something?"

Hilary dropped the book as she glanced in the direction of the voice. It was Kai alright…a shirtless one in fact! Her shyness returned in a flash, as she felt her cheeks heat up with embarrassment.

He was leaning against the doorframe to his bathroom, a white towel over his right shoulder. His slate hair was still damp with water, clinging to his face.

The brunette noticed his cheeks were unusually paler today but something she hadn't seen before now caught her attention.

A _real_ tattoo had been etched over the left side of his chest. It appeared to have been there for some time, its details and colors had been stretched and faded from age. Hilary couldn't quite make out what it was exactly, but it seemed to be some sort of crest, like a family symbol.

Her temperature skyrocketed instantly as she couldn't tear her eyes away from the figure in front of her. His fiery eyes were trained on her in an unreadable stare.

Taking a step backward, Hilary tried to exit the situation without a word, but her plan was failing miserably. She couldn't stop stuttering what was supposed to be an apology for the intrusion, and for meddling into his belongings. In an attempt to place the book back where she found it, she missed the table completely and the defenseless volume dropped to the floor.

"S..sorry…" she bent down to retrieve the book, only to crash into Kai as he got to it first. The contact sent a shock through her body, his skin brushing again her causing her temperature to rise impossibly higher.

"_What the heck is wrong with you!? It's not like you haven't seen a guy topless before! ….thank God he has pants on though…"_ Hilary was making a fool out of herself in front of him. She needed to leave…and quick.

Ruby eyes closed, she jumped to her feet and bowed her head slightly. "B…Boris wanted me to ma…make sure you were up…" With that, she pivoted on her heels and left the room.

Kai stared uninterested at the door, a look of slight confusion crossing his façade. He glanced down at the book in his hands, letting his fingers flip through the pages quickly before setting it back on the table.

"Whatever…" He turned and walked back into the bathroom to change.

: : : : : : :

"Pleased to see you decided to join us today…_Kai_." Boris sneered at the teen as he walked into the dining room rubbing his eyes.

"Stop that." The butler slapped one of his gloves across Kai's hand. The teen growled, flashing a famous death glare at the old man.

Boris began a lecture about being punctual and professional, sometime in the middle of it Kai started rubbing his eyes again, adding a couple loud yawns in the process.

"I know all this already." He pivoted around and headed for the door.

"And where do you think you're going?"

"Definitely outside."

"Hilary will be running the errands today. You will be required to stay inside and get ready for our guests this evening."

"You expect Hilary to be able to find all the crap you require?"

Boris raised his arm to attack but was halted as the young brunette appeared in the room.

"I just love your confidence in me Kai." She placed another vase of flowers on the buffet at the far side of the room.

The butler suddenly smirked. "Perhaps you are correct Master Kai. You should accompany her…make sure she doesn't get _lost_."

Both teens exchanged looks before staring at the purple-haired villain. Something was up.

"You're serious?!" Hilary was the first to say something.

"Quite."

"Hn." Kai closed his eyes and headed back over toward the door.

Boris looked back at Hilary. She hadn't moved an inch.

"Well?" His arm snapped to the door after Kai. "Get!"

She didn't need to be told twice. She was hot on Kai's heels in two seconds flat.

He tossed a coat at her head. "Let's get out of here."

Hilary only nodded in agreement.

: : : : : : : : : : :

The sun was shining brightly overhead but a cold wind blew through the streets. Summer had come and passed in the blink of an eye and fall was right around the corner. In a few months Hilary would have been with Sakuya and Kai for a whole year. It was hard to believe…

"So…."

Kai arched an eyebrow in her direction.

"Where are we going first?" She was about to take out her list but Kai grabbed it from her fingers. "Hey!"

He glanced over the print with feigned interest before crumpling it up and throwing it over his shoulder. "This thing is stupid anyway. Lets just wing it." A rare smirk crept up on his face.

"But what about…."

He huffed. "We'll just have to let that fall on Boris's shoulders. After all…this _was _his idea."

Hilary had to giggle. They were always plotting ways to get Boris in trouble or cause him a little bit of it. Even though they usually received a heavy punishment from him….it was all worth it in the end.

But for some reason today, Kai was slightly more quiet than usual. She secretly wondered if it had anything to do with the argument before they left or what happened earlier in the morning.

"You okay?"

"Why?"

"Something's bothering you."

"Nothing's bothering me."

"Liar."

"Shut it."

A long silence followed. Kai rubbed the inside of his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. As if sensing brown eyes on him, he turned back to his companion. "What?"

Hilary only arched a brow at his glare.

"It's nothing. Just a little stressed…" He growled in annoyance. He resumed rubbing at them again, determined to get whatever was in them out.

"Stop picking at them!"

"I can't!"

Hilary sighed and gave up. "You're just going to make it worse…"

"Yes, mother."

"So since you're so stressed…why don't you just leave? Move out or take a vacation or something?"

"Can't…"

"Oooh?" She earned a death glare.

He held his glare a little longer before sighing in defeat. "Voltaire's lies have gotten around. Though I'm 18, the government thinks I'm 16. Because of that, I won't be able to find a place to stay and I won't be able to access my money."

"Sixteen?!" Hilary made a face at that. No one in their right mind would think this young man was as old as her.

"Heh...I know." Kai smirked at her expression. "So I'm stuck in this hellhole until I'm at least 20..." He sighed. "Then again…it probably won't matter by then."

The brunette left it at that. She wasn't going to push it and risk not hearing more stories later on.

They came up to a pet store and proceeded inside. They had set up a system with the owner where they could get stuff for Neko and have it sent to the mansion undetected…no questions asked.

Every time they ventured outside, this was one of the places they would go. Both teens enjoyed being able to play with the baby animals they had for sale. Kai especially.

Upon walking inside, they went straight for the kitten cages. Hilary would always laugh as Kai was the first there to stick his arms down into the cage and pick up a couple of kittens.

"What is it about cats?" The question had been nagging Hilary for weeks. She just had to ask it.

"Hn?"

"Why do you like cats so much?"

"I don't really know…dogs can be trained to hate certain people…but I have yet to see a cat be trained in that way. They will either like you or hate you on their own will. Animals in general don't care who you are, or where you come from…" the kitten curled into the base of Kai's neck as he spoke, purring loudly as the teen rubbed behind his ear, "all they care about is if you love them in return..."

Hilary grabbed the black one that had found its way on Kai's shoulder and cradled it in her arms. "That's what I like about them too." She flashed a quick smile toward the older teen. "What better way for someone who's never been love to experience it?"

After a few more moments with the kittens, the brunette put the ones she was holding back into the pen and went to look for the items on the list. She quickly found the supplies Neko would need to survive back at the mansion and brought them up to the register.

The lady behind the counter smiled at her, noticing she was with the young man playing with all the cats. "No kittens today?"

"No." The brunette replied with a sheepish smile. Piling the items on the counter, the shopkeeper began totaling them up and placing them in a box to be delievered.

The bell above the door rang suddenly. Hilary turned to look as Kai began walking down the street. The classic sign of when it's time to go.

She thanked the lady and ran after him.

"I hate it when you do that, you know?" She sighed as she caught up with him.

"I'm crushed." His voice oozed sarcasm.

With a frustrated sigh Hilary darted into another shop. Boris had requested fresh baked goods along with a cake for whatever they were hosting tonight. She had to make sure it was ready.

Kai turned around as the door closed and decided to wait.

After a few minutes, Hilary reappeared. "How nice of you to wait this time!"

"Hey…why don't you go find some clothes…" He nodded toward a store across the street.

Hilary paused for a moment. "Huh?"

"Clothes…go find some clothes for yourself…you know…at a store…" Kai raised an eyebrow in her direction. "Find something that suits you better…I'm not good with that sort of thing…"

"But the uniform…"

"You can't wear that thing all the time…" Kai's eyes traveled down her figure, which was covered up with one of his coats. She had been careful to keep it closed the whole time during their outing. "I may not see as well as I used to…but even _that_ is obvious…"

"Hmph!" Hilary puffed hot air out of her cheeks and turned her nose up at the older teen. "Fine then!" She stormed off in the direction of a random store across from the street.

---

Kai followed Hilary into the store and almost instantly regretted it. He shuffled through the jungle of racks filled with clothes, arms up in case something would bite or snare him. He overheard other girls giggling and "aww"ing at him…whispering how sweet it was of him to go shopping with his girlfriend. Those comments were instantly silenced with a simple glare in their general direction.

He found a vacant chair and sat down. The teen wasn't even sure that it was a good idea. He had lost sight of Hilary and now he couldn't even see over the clothing racks. If she had left he would have no way of knowing…

But he was comforted once he heard Hilary's voice. She was over with a salesperson explaining how she didn't know anything about clothes…yadda yadda….as long as she was in the building he was satisfied and went about trying to catch up on his sleep.

Hilary followed her new design consultant around the racks of clothes, making weird faces at most of the clothes she was presented with. "Do you have anything less…." She didn't want to say the word "whore" but that's what most of this stuff looked like. "Well um…maybe more...covering?"

"But your boyfriend would just_ love_ this on you!" The guy was obviously gay, flipping his hand out at her and holding the shirt up to her.

Hilary blushed instantly and pushed the shirt back into the rack. "He isn't my boyfriend!" The salesman jutted his hip out and crossed his arms…giving her that whatever-I-know-better look. She blushed even more, thanking God Kai was asleep…hopefully not hearing this conversation. "Seriously! It's nothing like that!"

"Well then…" The guy got close to her ear. "Let's knock him off his feet!" he giggled, covering his mouth with a girly fist.

---

"Hey Kai."

Hilary's voice pulled him out of the semi-conscious state he was in. He yawned slightly and stared at her with sleepy, unfocused eyes.

"Come on…we haven't been here _that_ long!"

As his crimson eyes focused, he noticed she was wearing a denim skirt with a simple pink tank top and a matching jacket. He sat up, eyes widening a bit.

Hilary giggled and spun around. "What do you think? Is whatever it is obvious now?" She now knew why girls seemed to love shopping…it was fun! She felt like a kid again! And seeing the look on Kai's face made her want to do it all the time.

"…wow…"

Kai wasn't sure what else to say. She had been transformed with just a simple wardrobe change. It was like without the maids' dress and a baggy jacket hiding it, she was a different person!

"See? What did I _tell_ ya?!" The salesman patted her on the shoulder, winking at Kai.

He earned the most potent death glare Kai could muster.

"Eww…" He reclaimed his hands and made a sour face at the teen. "Well...if you need anything else, let me know!" he flashed a smile at Hilary before fleeing the premises.

"That suits you _much_ better." Kai got up from his seat. "Anything else you want to get?"

"This is fine." She smiled brightly and gave Kai a quick hug. "Thank you."

"Looks like we missed lunch, want to grab something to eat before we head back?"

"Sure!" Hilary smiled up at him. "But…won't we be in trouble? I'll probably need to help with dinner…"

"Boris told you to follow me around, so _he'll_ be in trouble…not you." Kai smirked slightly at the thought.

After paying for the clothes, they went down the street to the nearest restaurant. Hilary had never eaten outside of the mansion before so she decided to wait until Kai ordered to see how it was done.

"I'll take the number 8, large, no tomato."

That seemed easy…but she had no idea what exactly the food was. It looked edible enough…

"Let's see…uh…" Hilary felt her face heat up, realizing she wasn't sure how to order from the menu. "What's the number five?"

"The quarter-pounder?"

"Sure?" The brunette had no clue what a quarter-pounder was, but the picture looked decent.

The cashier proceeded to name off a list of things that came with it, along with the toppings. Hilary grimaced at a few of them, thinking there was no way one could eat them with beef and get away with it with their stomach in tact.

"What about the one two over from it?" She inquired, "No, to the left."

Kai finally sighed. "She'll just take the same as me."

After a few minutes their food was given to them in a bag wrapped up in paper. Hilary stared curiously at it, eyes large with wonder.

"Lets sit on the pier." Kai nodded over to a bench overlooking the ocean.

As they sat down, Hilary took her food and turned it over in her hands, trying to figure out an easy way to unwrap it.

"Seriously….you need to get out more." Kai took her burger from her and unwrapped it.

She managed to figure out how to eat and drink her food from watching Kai first. The brunette was delighted…this was so much better than that stuff she fixed! She wondered if she could figure out how to make this stuff too…but figured Voltaire would frown upon this glorious meal.

Speaking of Voltaire...

"Hey Kai? Shouldn't we start heading back? That party is probably already starting."

Kai made a disapproving noise. "I could care less about that. I can only stand around and look alive for so long in a situation like that."

"But...your grandfather..." Sure he was an ass of an old man...but this seemed important.

"He may have adopted me, but we aren't family…" his lips curled in a snarl at the thought. _Grandfather_...how he hated refering to him as that. "You've seen the crest, haven't you?" His hand brushed under his left collarbone where the tattoo had been carved into his skin. "That's the only thing that keeps my name separated from his…for now."

"I see…" Hilary looked down at the pavement as she walked beside him. "What's with that anyway?

Kai seemed a little shocked that she asked, but quickly rearranged his face to cover the small expression. "It's…a long story. You're full of questions today…."

"Oh, come on! You can tell me!"

"Why do you even care? …Seriously?"

She paused for a minute and looked over at the soft waves in the distance. "We're friends, aren't we?"

Kai's eyes narrowed slightly at her words.

"Sakuya told me that friends are supposed to tell each other their problems, and together they can work them out…" Hilary gave the older teen a faint smile. "Sakuya's really the first friend I've ever had, so I don't know much about it…but I think that it would be beneficial to the both of us if we were friends as well…"

She could feel her cheeks heat up as she spoke, completely embarrassed. Had she really just said something that stupid?! "_Remind me to hit myself in the head later."_

There was a long pause between the two. Hilary couldn't find the courage to look over and see what he was thinking. _"You're really stupid, ya know Hilary?" _She tried to mimic what she thought Kai was thinking in her head. _"Yeah, I know Kai...sorry. At least I can think of a better name for a cat that Neko." _

Kai's voice broke her mental conversation with herself. "My father had our family crest tattooed on me when I was very young. I can't remember why exactly…something about proving who I really was if things ever got bad."

_"Yay!" _He was going to tell her! "So it's like a proof of insurance?"

"Something like that." He glanced off into the distance, listening to the crash of the waves. "What about you? How did you end up here?"

"You bought me for a ridiculous amount of money."

"You know what I mean."

"…my father sold me to the Underground when I was young. I don't remember much about it, but I just remember they thought I'd have 'potential', so I was saved until I was older."

"You were lucky."

"I guess." Hilary looked at her lap. "A lot of the people I got close to were sold as sex slaves, or just disappeared. I watched as others got sick and died…you wouldn't believe how many times I wanted to die too…" She sniffed softly, not allowing tears to build up. "I was pretty much worthless. A little boy was sold for…I think seven million, which caused an uproar, and everyone that wasn't expected to make a million was….." She couldn't finish, she didn't want to break down.

Kai paled at her statement. It was making his stomach flip and his veins run cold.

"By the time I was old enough, they didn't think they were going to get much, and I was just a waste of time. The status quo was set too high." She turned to Kai with a fake smile. "Heh…I suppose you wasted a lot of your money, didn't you?" The girl wasn't even sure why she was talking about her life and feelings like this…but they had been backing up for so long, she felt like she needed to get them out, and they just decided to come with Kai here.

"I'll tell you something Saku once told me…" The older teen's crimson eyes turned toward the ocean again. "A long conviction of worthlessness builds strong walls, but once there is something to stop that conviction, those walls will start to crumble, and you will see just how worthy you really are." He turned to face her again, a discrete smile graced his lips. "You will never be worthless."

She returned his smile. "Thanks, Kai."

------

The two teens came to the front doorway of the mansion. They both were hesitant to open it. The house was silent, the driveway clear. There should have been dozens of excessively overpriced cars, their owners inside having a great time. Kai and Hilary looked at each other.

They were extremely late.

Kai let out a sigh. Oh well. He knew what was going to happen. He could only hope that Hilary wouldn't be dragged into it.

He grabbed the handle of the door and pushed.

"Kai!" Voltaire's voice echoed as the two teens proceeded through the hallway. Freezing in their tracks, they looked over their shoulder to see the elder coming out of the library at the base of the staircase.

Hilary heard Kai mutter a curse under his breath as he turned to face her slightly, not wanting to take his attention away from the raging man in front of them.

"You should probably run…"

Without more than a nod, the girl turned on her heels and fled into the kitchen they had just passed. She threw her shopping bags in a half-emptied cabinet, tossed her maid's dress over her head and headed for the maids' quarters, but decided to stay where she was. Seeing that there were a few pots soaking in the sink, she decided to wash them out and set them to dry. Secretly, she just wanted to be in earshot of the confrontation between Kai and Voltaire. She would be somewhat responsible for whatever would happen.

"Do you know what _time_ it is?! Do you have _any_ idea of what you have cost me today?!!"

Voltaire was furious; his rage was creating a resonating tone that Hilary could feel through the metal of the pot she was holding. This wasn't going to end pretty. A simple sentence like that could set Kai off as well…

"What could _you_ have possibly lost?!" Kai spat, his red eyes glaring with a burning anger already. "You don't know the _meaning_ of the word."

A loud smack caused Hilary to jump. Dropping the pot in the sink, she flung herself around just in time to see Kai skid across the floor in front of the kitchen. She gasped, immediately rushing to his side but froze when he held up his hand slightly…just a few inches off the ground…telling her to stay back and out of sight.

The blue haired teen touched his jaw line tenderly, making sure there was no blood. His face paint had been smeared, to his annoyance, but this had happened many times before.

Hilary watched as the elder stomped over to his grandson, grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and shoved him against the wall.

Lacking the strength to lift Kai up any higher, Voltaire had to lift his head slightly to glare directly in his eyes. The teen could only chuckle at this, earning another punch to the face.

"It looks like someone has got his spirit back…"

"Guess another plan bites the dust, huh?"

Voltaire released his grip, allowing the teen to fall to the floor with a dull 'thud'.

The old man straightened up, fixed his collar and brushed out the imaginary wrinkles on his suit.

"I will have a talk to Boris about letting you leave the premises." He glared down at the teen before returning to his library.

Kai sighed as he picked himself off the floor. He knew exactly what that talk with Boris would entail. He would be taking a trip to BioVolt soon.

Hilary tiptoed out from behind the kitchen island. "Are you alright?" Her fingers brushed lightly against the growing bruise on his cheek.

"Yeah. It's nothing." He nodded towards the stairs before walking over and heading up to his room. Hilary followed.

She closed the doors behind him and let out a sigh.

"I'm glad he didn't involve you. It's good to stay hidden when he's like that." Kai took off his coat and scarf, tossing them on his bed. He unbuttoned his shirt as he looked in the small mirror above his dresser.

Hilary heard him grunt with disapproval.

"What was that all about?" She sat down on the plush chair next to the window as he walked into the bathroom to remove his face paint. That book she had dropped earlier was still on the table. She picked it up and thumbed through the pages again.

"Voltaire was hosting a party full of rich snobs. I was supposed to be there...show the world how much better I look now that he's been taking care of me...yadda yadda." Kai let out a disgusted sigh.

"I'm sorry...it's my fault. I should have..."

"No. It's not your fault. I enjoy pushing him like that too much." Kai smirked at her as he came out of the bathroom. "You like books, don't you?"

"Oh! Sorry!" She placed the book back on the table. "It just seems interesting!"

"You can have it if you want."

"Oh no...I can't read very well anyway." She smiled sadly.

"Well I'll teach you then."

"You will?!" Hilary nearly jumped out of the chair. "I mean...no...you've done enough for me already."

"Heh." He rubbed her head playfully. "It's a good book. You wouldn't want to miss out." He picked it up and handed it to her. "I'm going to be at BioVolt for the next few days. Might as well read as much as you can."

BioVolt...Kai was always different when he came back from that place. It took him days to get back to his normal self. It seemed like every time Boris or Voltaire caught a sign Kai was turning into his rebellious self...he was sent back.

Hilary frowned.

"Yeah...alright then."

-----------------------------------------------

Review pwease?

oh! And a big thanks to Kimkizna once again. I'd seriously be lost without her!


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